EUROCYBER NEXUS

EUROCYBER NEXUS strengthens Europe’s capacity to build connected, resilient and innovation-driven cybersecurity ecosystems through interregional cooperation and policy alignment. By linking regions representing the full innovation spectrum from leader to emerging innovators in Finland (Helsinki-Uusimaa), Italy (Friuli Venezia Giulia and Lombardy–Apulia), Romania (Timiș), and Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo), the initiative engages public authorities, research organisations, SMEs and digital innovation hubs to address the fragmentation of cybersecurity innovation capacities and the uneven preparedness of SMEs to comply with the NIS2 Directive. The project introduces a new governance and readiness model that integrates cybersecurity policy, innovation support and SME compliance within a single interregional cooperation framework, bridging regulatory and innovation domains for the first time in this field. The project maps regional cybersecurity ecosystems and policy frameworks, facilitates structured peer-learning dialogues and co-design of methodologies supporting innovation and regulatory readiness, develops policy models, indicators and monitoring tools for cross-regional alignment, and co-creates a Joint Interregional Roadmap 2026–2028 defining shared priorities for investment and cooperation. Regional and national authorities participate through an Advisory Board ensuring consistency with S3/S4 and EU cybersecurity strategies. A structured governance system combines coordination by TEC4I with methodology leadership by Haaga-Helia, policy and indicator development by EIT Manufacturing and West RDA, and communication and exploitation by AREA, ensuring coherent implementation and validation through the Advisory Board. It will deliver the foundations for a long-term European Joint Programme on Cybersecurity Innovation, contributing to the objectives of the New European Innovation Agenda and to the EU’s open strategic autonomy in the digital domain.